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September 12, 2017

41st Parliament, 2nd Session

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Hansard Transcripts

Votes and Proceedings

Orders and Notices

Hansard Transcript 2017-Sept-12 (PDF)

L091 - Tue 12 Sep 2017 / Mar 12 sep 2017

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF ONTARIO

ASSEMBLÉE LÉGISLATIVE DE L’ONTARIO

Tuesday 12 September 2017 Mardi 12 septembre 2017

Orders of the Day

Construction Lien Amendment Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 modifiant la

Loi sur le privilège dans l’industrie de la construction

Introduction of Visitors

Correction of record

Legislative pages

Decorum in chamber

Oral Questions

Opioid abuse

Greenhouse gas emissions

Hospital funding

Seniors’ health services

Autism treatment

By-election in Sudbury

Housing policy

Child care

Workers’ compensation

Cycling policies

Wind turbines

Employment standards

Cannabis regulation

Flag-raising ceremony

Correction of record

Introduction of Visitors

Members’ Statements

International Plowing Match

Anniversary of NDP in Nickel Belt/Sudbury East

BIG on Bloor Festival

Natural gas

Flooding in Windsor and Essex county

Jayesh Prajapati

Opioid abuse

Conservation authorities

The Giving Tree Unionville

Reports by Committees

Standing Committee on Government Agencies

Standing Committee on Estimates

Introduction of Bills

Simcoe Day Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 sur le Jour de Simcoe

Silver Merle Corporation Act, 2017

Workplace Safety and Insurance Amendment Act (PTSD Benefits), 2017 / Loi de 2017 modifiant la

Loi sur la sécurité professionnelle et l’assurance contre les accidents du travail (prestations pour état de stress post-traumatique)

Representation Statute Law Amendment Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 modifiant des lois en ce qui concerne la représentation électorale

Petitions

Wasaga Beach

Long-term care

Ice machines

Transportation infrastructure

Mental health services

Water fluoridation

Hunting and fishing licences

Disaster relief

GO Transit

Government advertising

Missing persons

Hospital funding

Orders of the Day

Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 pour l’équité en milieu de travail et de meilleurs emplois

Adjournment Debate

School safety

The House met at 0900.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Good morning. Please join me in prayer.

Prayers.

Orders of the Day

Construction Lien Amendment Act, 2017 / Loi de 2017 modifiant la

Loi sur le privilège dans l’industrie de la construction

Mr. Naqvi moved second reading of the following bill:

Bill 142,

An Act to amend the Construction Lien Act / Projet de loi 142, Loi modifiant la

Loi sur le privilège dans l’industrie de la construction.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Mr. Naqvi.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: Thank you very much, Speaker. Good morning to everyone. It’s a great honour for me to rise in the House today to open debate on a bill that would, if passed, support thousands of workers and businesses in Ontario’s construction sector.

Before I do that, Speaker, I want to acknowledge some guests in the chamber who had direct involvement in the development of this bill. I would like to welcome Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel—I see Sharon here and not Bruce; I’m sure he’s making his way to the House—and two of their associates, Paul Guaragna and Laura Delemere—welcome—from the law firm of Borden Ladner Gervais. I will speak a little bit about them in my remarks, but just to say at the outset that they have been extremely instrumental—

Mr. Steve Clark: Point of order, Speaker.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Excuse me; a point of order.

Mr. Steve Clark: I don’t believe we have quorum to hear the wonderful speech by the Attorney General.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Is a quorum present?

The Deputy Clerk (Mr. Trevor Day): A quorum is present, Speaker.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): A quorum is present. Thank you very much.

I return it back to the Attorney General.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: As I was saying, I just want to extend my gratitude to Ms. Sharon Vogel and Mr. Bruce Reynolds for the incredible work they have done in assisting the government in developing this very important piece of legislation. As members would know, having looked through the legislation, this is a complex area of law with a lot of nuance and intricacies, and technical expertise and know-how were very much needed.

Having experts like Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel on our side was extremely helpful in navigating through various different interests that exist and the technicalities around this very important issue, to the point where we are here today in the form and shape of Bill 142.

Speaker, I would also like to welcome two members of the expert advisory group who also assisted in the development of the bill before you today. They are Tanya Litzenberger from the city of Toronto and Derek Freeman, who is a counsel and specializes in the area of construction law as well.

Speaker, I would like to extend my thanks to all of the guests for their continued work and support in helping with this important piece of legislation. Thank you to them for taking time out of their busy days to attend the beginning of second reading debate on this important bill.

We all know that Ontario has a strong economy, and it should come as no surprise to anyone that our construction industry is a driving force behind it. The sector is responsible for almost 7% of the province’s GDP, and it employs more than 400,000 hard-working men and women in our province, not to mention the many more people and businesses that benefit from this particular sector. The construction industry literally builds Ontario up. That’s why it’s so important that we always support the sector, so that it can continue to thrive.

The bill before you today is the largest proposed change to Ontario’s construction industry in over 34 years. It’s a bill that, if passed, would help bring our laws up to date to reflect current industry best practices and ensure that each and every worker on a project is paid on time and in full, to support not only the thousands of people who work in this important sector but also their families.

I would like to now take a moment to talk about how our construction sector operates.

A construction project involves multiple projects. The best way to look at it is like a pyramid, with the owner or developer at the top entering into an agreement with one or more general contractors. Each general contractor then enters into an agreement with specific subcontractors to work on certain parts of the project, and those subcontractors hire other workers and suppliers. You can see the development of that pyramid.

The payments flow downwards in a similar fashion. The money flows down from the owner or developer until everyone working on the project gets paid. However, when a company does not get paid for its work, it sets off a chain reaction that affects payroll and delays payments needed for trade workers, suppliers and everyone else who has worked on the project. This can have a devastating effect on not only a project or business but also on the workers themselves. This is not fair, and it is definitely not right.

If you have ever known anyone who works in construction, you know that it can often be a tough job. It’s hard work. It’s physically and mentally demanding, and it’s exhausting. I have a ton of respect, and I know members around this House have expressed their own respect, for the women and men who work in our construction sector. Can you imagine working hard outdoors all day through all kinds of climate, and to come in at night and learn that you won’t be getting paid? How do you pay your bills? What do you tell your family? How do you support them? Protecting Ontario families is a top priority for our government.

Projects like these will no doubt create a lasting legacy in the province because, as we know, we are seeing construction projects all across the province. I just look at my community of Ottawa Centre, where we are building an extension to the Ottawa Heart Institute—one of the best heart institutes in the world, saving lives every day. We’re building a major expansion, with new surgical rooms. People are working day in and day out to get this expansion built.

A new school was built in my community in Ottawa Centre, the Broadview Public School, that went up in a matter of one construction season, so that our children could be in this brand new school—from the old school, that was built in the 1920s, which was asbestos-laden and whatnot—and be able to be in a state-of-the-art facility to get an education.

We are about to commence construction of a new pedestrian bridge over the historic Rideau Canal, which is protected by UNESCO. That project will happen in two construction sectors. It’s a beautiful bridge, which I hope you’ll come to Ottawa to visit once it’s built in 2019 as one of the Canada 150 legacy projects.

But projects like these—and I can go on and on, and I’m sure every member in this House can talk about incredible projects that are happening, be it building public transit like the Ottawa LRT in my hometown or building hospitals or schools or community centres. All these projects happen because there are people working on them. There are many partners in these projects. The stories that we hear sometimes, that the projects stall because somebody is not getting paid or money has run out—we want to make sure these kinds of things never happen.

So, Speaker, to make sure that this critically important industry continues to thrive, we need to make sure that our construction laws are up to date and reflect today’s realities. We need to stand up for the needs of Ontario workers and businesses. That’s why the proposed Construction Lien Amendment Act is so important, because it would modernize our construction laws to make payment and adjudication processes fairer, simpler and work better for people.

The Construction Lien Act was created in 1983. That’s well over 30 years ago. Until recently, the Construction Lien Act has not been the subject of a major review. But a lot of things have changed since 1983, and the construction laws that worked for industry back then just are not cutting it in today’s economy. Construction projects and payment processes have become more and more complex. Late payments are becoming a pervasive problem in all sectors of the construction industry. In fact, between 2002 and 2013, the average collection period in construction has increased from about 57 days to 71 days.

The increased complexity of construction projects means that resolving disputes takes more time than ever—sometimes months or even years—to work out. That means that it can sometimes be years before some people see the money owed to them for their hard work. That’s no way to do business, any business, and that’s no way to treat the people who work for them in these businesses in our communities.

Over the past decade, we have received several proposals from stakeholders about how to change the Construction Lien Act. While everyone agreed that there were things that needed improvement in the act, it has always been difficult to reach consensus on exactly what changes needed to be made, which in large

part can be attributed to the diversity of the industry. That’s why, Speaker, in 2014 our government announced that we would launch an independent review—and that’s an important part, and that’s where our good friends Ms. Vogel and Mr. Reynolds come in, in terms of conducting that independent review of the Construction Lien Act. This review would include, among other things, finding a way to address payment issues in the construction industry.

In February 2015, we retained Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel—both of whom are leading experts in construction law at Borden Ladner Gervais and are well respected across the construction industry—to lead this review. When we retained Bruce and Sharon, we made clear to them our commitment for change, our commitment to update this law that directly affects hundreds of thousands of Ontarians every day. We made it clear that everything was on the table, and we trusted in them to get this job done. Suffice it to say that we gave Bruce and Sharon a formidable task.

I would like to acknowledge and thank them today for their expertise and advice during the review. Over the last a little over a year, I had the opportunity to very closely work with them, and I’m absolutely impressed by the thoroughness they have demonstrated and competency in getting this work done.

The review they conducted was done in three separate phases over the course of almost two years. In the first phase, the reviewers developed a consultation document that identified key issues, including prompt payment, and asked stakeholders to submit their concerns. Once they received that feedback, they began extensive consultations with a broad range of stakeholders, including both the private and public sectors, architects, engineers, legal and other building professionals and the financial sector.

Speaker, they were not short on participants. The review convened more than 30 meetings which were attended by over 60 key interest groups hosting many lively and spirited discussions, as I am told; and they also received over 70 written submissions. We are talking about very technical written submissions as to how the law should be changed.

I myself, as the Attorney General, the minister responsible for the Construction Lien Act, individually met with over 30 different stakeholder groups once I received the final report from Ms. Vogel and Mr. Reynolds.

Speaker, it has taken us 34 years to get to this point, and until now, no one has been able to achieve consensus on these changes—until now. This is really an incredible milestone. I think the process that was undertaken to accomplish that, in terms of the consultation and the conversations, really added to the consensus we see today in the form of Bill 142.

Thanks to this work, a broad consensus was reached on the three core issues of the review: maintaining and modernizing the lien and holdback process; establishing a new system for prompt payment; and creating a targeted adjudication system to resolve disputes. After consultation with these stakeholders, Bruce and Sharon landed on a plan for a way forward.

But before I continue, Speaker, I would like to just take a moment to personally acknowledge all of the different groups who contributed to this incredible effort. I think it’s worth mentioning them, to understand the depth of expertise that was canvassed and consulted in this entire process.

It includes legal sector associations with construction expertise, like the construction and infrastructure

section of the Ontario Bar Association, who participated in a subcommittee on the Construction Lien Act review.

In addition, private sector organizations like Enbridge Gas Distribution Inc. provided input during the consultations.

We also heard from municipalities and associations, including the Association of Municipalities of Ontario, the city of Toronto, the Toronto Transit Commission, Toronto Community Housing Corp., York region, and the Rural Ontario Municipal Association.

Of course, we worked very closely with associations representing building professionals.

They included the National Trade Contractors Coalition of Canada; the Association of Ontario Land Surveyors; the Ontario Dump Truck Association; Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters; the Ontario Electrical League; the Ontario General Contractors Association; the Ontario Good Roads Association; the Greater Toronto Sewer and Watermain Contractors Association; the Ontario Road Builders’ Association; the International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 793; the Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association; the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 183; Toronto Electrical Industry Benefit Administrative Services; the Laborers’ International Union of North America, Local 183; the Provincial Building and Construction Trades Council of Ontario; the Canadian Institute of Quantity Surveyors; and the Metropolitan Plumbing and Heating Contractor Association.

Speaker, you can see the level of expertise that exists in all of these organizations. We know many of these associations ourselves, as we have met with them on a regular basis. We have heard from them about the issues around the Construction Lien Act, especially around prompt payment, and many other important issues and topics that relate to our construction sector. They were all extensively involved in this review period, that took two years before we got here today.

I would like to take the time now to read comments provided in response to the Construction Lien Act by the Carpenters’ District Council of Ontario, which represents approximately 30,000 members throughout this province.

This is what they say: “The Carpenters are overall very pleased with the changes proposed by this bill. We believe that the proposed changes have met the government’s mandate to have the Construction Lien Act better align with the modern-day construction industry. Most importantly, the new legislation ensures the steady flow of funds down the chain to the various contractors and subcontractors—and ultimately our members’ wages—in the construction pyramid.”

They concluded by saying that the “Carpenters welcome the changes proposed in the bill and congratulate the government on its willingness to update the province’s construction lien legislation to better serve today’s construction industry and particularly the men and women who work within it.”

I would also like to mention several other associations who contributed valuable expertise and insight throughout this process, organizations such as Prompt Payment Ontario, Ontario Association of Architects, Ontario Association of Landscape Architects, Consulting Engineers of Ontario, Ontario Society of Professional Engineers, Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario, Council of Ontario Construction Associations, Canadian Construction Association, Ontario Construction Lien Masters, Ontario Construction Secretariat, Surety Association of Canada and the Advocates’ Society.

In addition, we involved the financial sector in our discussions as well, specifically the Canada Bankers Association. I would also like to note that the residential sector provided an important perspective during the consultation process, and very thoughtful insight. We heard from the Ontario Home Builders’ Association, the Building Owners and Managers Association, the Association of Condominium Managers of Ontario, the Canadian Condominium Institute of Toronto, and the Residential Construction Council of Ontario—again, all very important partners, as we all know, within the residential development sector of the construction industry in our province.

Moving on with acknowledgements, I think it’s really important to reference all these groups again because we know them all and because we speak with them. They have been diligently involved in this process, and I want them to know that we all collectively do hear them. When we meet with them and attend the receptions that they host at Queen’s Park, those conversations are meaningful to us. Their input is relevant to the deliberations that take place within the government and with all members. When their work and their input is reflected in the legislation that we are debating today, I think it’s important that we do acknowledge them for the work they do.

I do want to also acknowledge the many government ministries as well as the independent agencies that provided a public sector lens to the discussion, because there is a huge public sector element to this conversation, given the billions of dollars that our government is investing in building Ontario up when it comes to our hospitals, schools, public transit and the bridges, roads and highways that are being built in our province.

So I want to also thank organizations like the Ontario Public Works Association, the Canadian Council for Public-Private Partnerships, the Ontario Hospital Association, the Ontario Public Buyers Association, Infrastructure Ontario, the city of Toronto, Metrolinx, the Toronto Transit Commission and York region for their input.

Of course, the education sector was also represented in the consultations that we did—represented by the Council of Ontario Universities, Ontario Public School Boards’ Association, Colleges Ontario and the Ontario Association of School Business Officials.

Speaker, I wasn’t kidding when I said that this industry is diverse. You start getting a real appreciation of the work that our experts have to do in terms of engaging with all these stakeholders: not leaving anybody behind, making sure they all had an opportunity to provide input and making sure they all were consulted frequently on an ongoing basis as the expert independent review report was being developed and, once that work was done, when the legislation then was being crafted as a result of the recommendations that Ms. Vogel and Mr. Reynolds provided. It has been—and I’m not exaggerating at all, Speaker—a monumental task. It has been a very significant task.

When I got into this file, once I was appointed the Attorney General, I started learning—and I did read the report; I mentioned that a few times. It’s a sure cure for insomnia if somebody’s having trouble sleeping; not that the report is boring, but the content is very technical. I think they know this. They were surprised that I read the whole thing. I did admit that it took me three sittings to completely read the report, but I had some good sleeps after that as well.

The report is public; it’s on the Attorney General’s website, and I encourage members to look at it. When you read the report, you really do recognize the complexity of the subject matter. You do recognize the layers and layers of issues that had to be dealt with.

It was impressed upon me by our expert panels and our advisory group—and I’m going to speak about them in a moment—that the entire scheme sort of hangs together, that everything is interlinked. We’ve been very mindful, as we’re going through the report and working through what recommendations to implement and how, not to do too much going through a menu and picking and choosing. There is a fragile balance that exists in the entire scheme from the beginning to the end, and there is a lot of consensus that has been built. Everybody has done a little bit of a give-and-take to get to the point.

We should do our very best to respect that integrity. I think we’ve accomplished that. Again, in that whole process of taking the report and translating that into policy and then translating it into the drafting of legislation, Bruce and Sharon were really helpful in keeping that balance and keeping that intimate intricacy that exists within this legislation.

The inside knowledge and expertise of each of these groups was invaluable to this review. Their work included identifying 90 separate issues and sub-issues in the areas of construction lien and holdback rules, prompt payment, and dispute resolution. These issues were then clearly set out in an information package that was distributed to the stakeholder community and posted online. They also distributed a survey to industry to better understand their perspective and needs, all of which helped ensure that the proposed changes worked for a wide cross-section of the construction sector.

Once all of that input was received, Bruce and Sharon convened an expert advisory group that consisted of lawyers aligned with major groups in the industry who were responsible for providing insight into different stakeholder perspectives as we move forward to craft the legislation.

Speaker, I would just like to take a moment to acknowledge the members of the advisory group, a few of whom, as mentioned, are here today. They’re an absolutely impressive group of people who know their subject area very well, who not only brought their expertise but all their respective positions in terms of different groups so that there would be that healthy tension you need to create legislation like this.

I had the opportunity of meeting the group personally at least two times—if not three, but I think definitely two times—just to do a check-in, as the experts from the perspective of Bruce and Sharon, the other stakeholders and my ministry—my staff was working on it—just to make sure that things are on the right track and everybody feels comfortable. I always came out thoroughly impressed by the calibre of these individuals and their expertise, and the positive willingness they were bringing to the table to get this work done, fully recognizing that this is our opportunity to modernize this piece of legislation. They were committed to get that work done.

I want to take the opportunity to thank people like—I’ll mention their names and their law firms or their organizations because it’s important: Glenn Ackerley of WeirFoulds LLP; Geza Banfai of McMillan LLP; Ray Bassett of Travelers insurance company of Canada; Glenn Clarke from Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board; Marni Dicker of Infrastructure Ontario; Derek Freeman of Freeman Law Barristers; Duncan Glaholt of Glaholt LLP; Howard Krupat of DLA Piper; Tanya Litzenberger of the city of Toronto; Jeffrey Long from Koskie Minsky LLP; Bernie McGarva of Aird and Berlis LLP; Jerry Paglia from York region; Matt Ainley, who is a construction executive; and Howard Wise of Goodmans LLP.

Like I said, Speaker, an impressive group of people who spent a lot of their volunteer time in this process and giving advice through this advisory experts group.

Bruce and Sharon worked closely with the advisory group to develop a report containing concrete, workable solutions to reform Ontario’s construction legislation. We released their report, entitled Striking the Balance: Expert Review of Ontario’s Construction Lien Act, last September.

Speaker, “balance” is absolutely the right word for this report because its recommendations carefully weigh the diversity of interests across the construction industry. Since the release of this report, I have met with 25 industry and stakeholder groups to get more feedback on the proposed changes. I was really pleased with the thoughtful input we received.

As we moved forward drafting the legislation, we also continued to work closely with Mr. Reynolds and Ms. Vogel and the expert advisory group of industry professionals. I found it quite heartening how well we all worked together—government and industry—to find common ground among many competing interests. By keeping the dialogue going, it helped us to ensure that the changes we are proposing today are practical, workable and address people’s needs.

For the most part, all of the stakeholders expressed their support for the review process, the report and its recommendations. I am proud to be introducing changes today that not only have their full support but reflect a wide spectrum of input across the industry.

Let’s get into the legislation and the different elements in the legislation. As I have mentioned, it has been a long time since the act was last updated—over 30 years now. The industry has changed considerably over this time. As a government, we need to make sure that our laws are keeping pace with that change and make sure we are supporting—not hindering—its growth. That is why it’s so important that gaps in construction laws be addressed.

Our bill includes some key amendments which will modernize construction lien and holdback rules. The holdback process was an area that our stakeholders identified that they have had some difficulties with. We heard that most of the construction industry sees the value in maintaining a fund for liens that can be claimed, but we also heard that this can cause funds to move very slowly down the construction pyramid that I spoke about earlier and that there needs to be a level playing field for everyone involved in a project, no matter what their position.

We want to ensure that holdback fees are paid out as soon as the deadline to file construction liens against a project has passed. Every person in our province should be able to plan ahead and know exactly when to expect payment for their work. These changes would give contractors and subcontractors the certainty they deserve and should expect.

We also want to extend the timelines to file liens and start court actions from 90 days to 150 days. This would give contractors and subcontractors more time to resolve disputes out of court and avoid additional legal fees.

Our new proposed legislation would also require surety bonds to be posted on public projects above a certain dollar amount. These bonds are currently used in both public and private projects, but there is no legislation that mandates contractors to post them. By posting mandatory surety bonds, subcontractors and suppliers would be protected and paid in case of a project’s insolvency. In addition, specific bookkeeping requirements would be set out to better protect subcontractors if a contractor becomes insolvent and cannot pay its debts.

We want to keep any actions as simple and cost-effective as possible, so our bill proposes that construction lien claims under $25,000 could be referred to Small Claims Court. This will go a long way in allowing a claim to be resolved quickly and with minimal cost involved.

Our final proposal to modernize the act includes changing its name to the Construction Act, which would more accurately reflect the range of items addressed in the proposed legislation.

Let me now speak about the prompt payment regime, an area that is probably well known to members and an area that was championed by a colleague, the MPP for Vaughan, the Minister of Transportation, who, before being in cabinet, also brought a private member’s bill and has been quite a champion of having a prompt payment regime in our province. I want to thank the member for Vaughan for his advocacy on this issue.

Late payment is one of the most urgent and pressing issues facing the construction industry today. When a company does not get paid for its work, it sets off a chain reaction that affects its own payroll and the payments it needs to make to others. As I mentioned earlier, this can be devastating for workers, for businesses, for the entire project. This is actually a problem seen around the world.

In recent years, a number of jurisdictions have introduced legislation to address late payment in the construction industry, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore and Malaysia. If Ontario wants to be competitive on the global stage, it’s time we stepped up, which is exactly what we are doing through Bill 142.

Under the proposed legislation, the deadline for making a payment would be triggered by the first submission of a proper invoice. Under our proposal, the proper invoice would clearly state information like the amount owing and the payment terms, and invoices would be submitted monthly, unless the parties set out an alternate arrangement in their contract.

These changes would require both parties to negotiate and set out details before work has begun. This may even help to avoid some disputes in the future. If they do not agree on payment timelines, both parties will have to follow the timeline for payments set out in the legislation.

For instance, once an invoice is submitted to the subcontractor, the owner would be required to pay the contractor within 28 days. That contractor must then pay his subcontractors within seven days of receiving that payment, and these subcontractors need to pay their subcontractors within seven days as well. Payments then flow down the construction pyramid in a reliable manner to workers on a construction project.

This will help to ensure that funds are not held back at the top and that everyone is paid in a timely manner. Knowing exactly when to expect payment allows contractors and suppliers to run their businesses more effectively, make more competitive bids and meet their financial responsibilities in a timely fashion.

In the event that an owner or a contractor fails to make a payment, mandatory interest would be added onto the amount owed. Owners would be able to dispute an invoice by notifying the contractor within 14 days of any amounts that will be withheld from payment. If the parties do not reach an agreement at that point, the contractor could refer the case to a new construction dispute interim adjudication system.

Speaker, I would now like to take a moment to read a press release from Prompt Payment Ontario from May 31, 2017. I do this because Prompt Payment Ontario was a coalition of members from the construction industry that came together to urge the government, to encourage the government, to have a prompt-payment regime in the province.

On May 31, when we tabled this legislation, this press release was issued by Prompt Payment Ontario. The heading of that press release was “Prompt Payment Ontario Congratulates Government on Introduction of Prompt Payment Legislation.”

It goes on to say, “Today, members of Prompt Payment Ontario (PPO) congratulate the Ontario government on the introduction of prompt payment legislation in Ontario. The introduction of prompt payment legislation is a groundbreaking step in the right direction and will help to protect over 400,000 workers across the province. Ontario is the first province in Canada to introduce prompt payment legislation—leading the way for other provinces across the country and the federal government to do the same.

“Delinquent prompt payment has been an issue in Ontario for too long and has various negative consequences on our entire economy. Rampant delinquent payment drives up the cost of construction as contractors have to factor the risk of delinquent payments into their bids and taxpayers are increasingly burdened by the rising costs for important infrastructure projects that are a key to the province’s future economic success. Prompt payment legislation will help our economy thrive and help our ever-growing number of new infrastructure projects move ahead in a timely and efficient manner.

“‘We are happy to see that the government is doing the right thing, to solve this problem.’” That was said by Ron Johnson, the director of Prompt Payment Ontario, who then went on to say, “‘Prompt Payment Ontario, and our wide-reaching membership, are hopeful that the government will stay true to their commitment and pass this important legislation in the fall of 2017.’” Here we are, Speaker, in the late summer of 2017, debating this bill, with the hope of being able to pass this important bill in the fall.

I wanted to read that because I think, from Prompt Payment Ontario’s perspective, which is an important organization focused on this issue, they really summarized the issue and the impact on workers and our economy quite succinctly, and also to highlight that they have had the chance to be part of these consultations. They’ve had the chance to review the legislation and are supportive of what has been put forward.

I think it’s very important to hear from a group of people who have been advocating to have a prompt payment system in our province, not to mention that they highlighted the fact that we are the first province or jurisdiction in Canada do so, encouraging other jurisdictions, including the federal government, to follow Ontario’s lead in bringing a prompt payment system to the province.

I have had conversations with the federal government—I won’t bore you with those—to see that other jurisdictions are starting to get interested to see what Ontario is doing. I have heard from our reviewers and experts as well that other provinces are watching Ontario with the work that we are doing with modernizing our Construction Lien Act to see the opportunities for them to follow suit. They are most welcome to cut and paste if they wish to, if it works for their jurisdiction.

Speaker, PPO also thanked Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel for their work in tirelessly undertaking both the Construction Lien Act review report and ensuring that this legislation was truly reflective of the feedback received in stakeholder consultations. The members of PPO, as they said, are looking forward to reviewing the legislation and to working with parliamentarians in implementing prompt payment legislation in Ontario as soon as possible. They went on to say that PPO would like to thank their various members who have provided ongoing support in this endeavour.

Their tireless efforts have helped to raise awareness of the ongoing issues of delinquent payment in our construction sector, and have assisted in a solution. That solution is contained within Bill 142, which is before this House—a very important element of this legislation which I know many members have spoken to me about. As I said, the member from Vaughan, in fact, brought a private member’s bill introducing this concept to our Legislature, which we were able to then build upon and present in Bill 142.

Speaker, let me now discuss the next major part of this bill. There is a lot in it. I’m sure you’ve seen the bill. It’s fairly lengthy. Adjudication is a critical part of the prompt payment system. It is the key to speeding up the dispute resolution process. It also gives owners the ability to dispute invoices where they feel there’s a problem with the work done on a project or with the amount owed. We have seen other jurisdictions implement prompt payment systems without it and, unfortunately, they see the same delays in the court system.

Those in the construction industry that have experience with litigation, particularly on large or complex projects, will understand the time and investment that are all too often involved in resolving a dispute in court. In some cases, the process just to get to trial can take up to a year.

The new system we are proposing in Bill 142, if passed, would mark a dramatic change for the industry. In most cases, adjudication will allow these disputes to be resolved in short order, freeing up funds down the construction pyramid. This means that the parties do not have to wait for the issue to move through the court system and they can continue work on the project without delay, which I think is a significant part of this and desired by everyone within the sector. The adjudication system would examine the matter and reach a decision on the amount owed, usually in less than six weeks.

If the adjudication decision is that the owner must pay and then the owner refuses to comply, the contractor would then have the right to suspend work on the contract.

Speaker, one important aspect of the new prompt payment and adjudication scheme that I would like to point out is that it would only apply to contracts and subcontracts entered into on or after the relevant parts of the bill are proclaimed in force. As you can see, we have worked hard to make sure that everyone’s interests are covered with our proposed amendments and maintain a sense of fairness and balance.

I would like to now touch on some of the key aspects of the proposed system. Adjudication will be conducted by private individuals who have extensive expertise in construction and specialized training in dispute resolution. A private, authorized nominating authority would be responsible for selecting and training adjudicators, as well as maintaining a list of qualified adjudicators. In a dispute, both parties would be able to select an adjudicator from this list who has the most relevant expertise for their case. Adjudicators would have broad authority to consider a dispute as quickly and effectively as possible.

Their decision would be binding on the parties on an interim basis to keep the project moving. This means that either party will still have the option of taking the dispute to court or arbitration for a final determination. But if both parties are satisfied with the adjudication, then they could choose to treat the adjudicator’s decision as final.

Combined with the proposed prompt payment system, this provides a fast and inexpensive option to resolve disputes while maintaining all the protections of the court system where needed. Adjudication is a critical part of prompt payment, but it could also be used for other disputes that parties want to see resolved by an expert quickly and easily outside of the court system.

I would also like to note that Ontario would not be the first to try out this system. It has worked well in many other jurisdictions, so we’ve got some experience to build upon. In fact, the adjudication system has been in place in the United Kingdom for about 20 years now. Adjudication in the UK has the respect of both the industry and the courts, and it has been a big success there, having largely replaced costly litigation on construction matters.

The adjudication process has been adopted in other common law jurisdictions, including Ireland, New Zealand, parts of Australia, and Singapore, where it has experienced similar success. Speaker, I have full confidence that adopting the same process here in Ontario would make a big difference for the industry and those who work in it.

Speaker, let’s talk about the next steps. As with any dramatic industry change, we anticipate that there will be adjustments and tweaks needed down the road, so it’s important that we get every aspect of this legislation right. Over the summer, we sought feedback on the bill from stakeholders across the industry. As you may recall, we tabled this before the end of the spring sitting, so summer was available to all stakeholders to actually review the legislation, as drafted and tabled in the House, and an opportunity to give us feedback over the summer months on the actual wording of the legislation.

We received a number of submissions telling us what worked for them and what did not. Speaker, our government is working alongside Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel and the advisory group to address these concerns. That work is ongoing.

I am proud of the level of input, collaboration and interest we have had from industry each step of the way. It really speaks to the importance of the changes we are proposing. As this bill progresses through the committee stage, we will be looking for continuous suggestions and ideas from our stakeholders to identify areas for improvement.

This bill contains significant changes for Ontario’s construction industry. Not only is it important for the Legislature to get this legislation right; it is also important for the industry itself to be properly prepared for the changes that may come as a result of this bill. I have heard from the industry that it will need time to become familiar with the new rules and make the necessary adjustments to its practices. The industry will also need certainty as to how the new rules apply and advance notice as to when the new rules will come into effect.

So the transition period is extremely important, from the time of passage of the bill and its implementation and then all of the regulations that have to be developed. As we know, construction projects are ongoing and we need to be able to transition properly.

I want to say again that this legislation is groundbreaking. It’s important, and we have worked very hard and are continuing to work hard to make sure it reflects the needs of the industry.

Again, if the bill is passed I would like to assure the industry that they will have time to prepare for these changes. This government is committed to providing appropriate advance notice before any of the proposed changes are brought into effect so that there will be no surprises for anyone. Should this bill pass, I look forward to seeing the impact that it makes on the thousands of people and families in Ontario that are supported by this very important sector.

Speaker, the bill before you today is the biggest proposed change to Ontario’s construction industry in over three decades, and it marks the first-ever consensus we have reached with industry stakeholders on issues including modernizing lien and holdback rules, prompt payment and adjudication. But the bottom line is this: We need to bring our laws up to date to support the thousands of workers in this important sector and their families. It really comes down to that.

The changes we are proposing will impact everyone involved in the construction industry. From the companies that are involved in large, multi-million-dollar construction projects to the families doing small-scale renovations of their homes, we kept their interests top of mind as we carefully consulted with people across the sector.

I would like to provide one final quote at this time from the International Union of Operating Engineers, better known as Local 793, which represents more than 14,500 members across all sectors of the construction and industrial industry in Ontario. They had this to say about this legislation:

“As a whole, Local 793 is very pleased with the legislation as currently drafted. Your decision to appoint special advisers and have them engage in an open and transparent process of consultation that allowed all stakeholders the opportunity to participate, comment and review the amendments has resulted in a significant achievement that we believe addresses the many interests at stake.

“From Local 793’s perspective, many of the changes being tabled will directly assist some of the most vulnerable groups in the construction pyramid, namely those that reside at or near the bottom of the pyramid. This includes many hardworking individuals and companies that live, work and vote in Ontario, of which many are members of Local 793.”

It’s clear when you hear from all the partners in the construction sector—from owner-contractors all the way down to trades and sub-trades—that there is a very healthy respect for the entire pyramid, so to speak, as referred to, or the entire chain. Everybody recognizes the important role everybody in that chain plays for a construction project to take place, big or small; obviously it’s more complex in bigger projects that we see and you and I often talk about this in the House.

The desire to get the work done, to get the project completed and, most importantly, the need for payment for work to take place, from the top to the bottom, in a timely manner, in a prompt manner, is always being highlighted. It’s very important, because construction is done by people. It’s still a very human-resource-intensive way of doing work. That’s why it creates so many jobs, that’s why it’s 7% of GDP. Half a million Ontarians are involved in construction. It’s such an important key to our economy. I think there’s probably somebody in all of our lives who is part of the construction industry.

Making sure that people get paid for the work they do, and that they get paid for the work they do in a prompt manner, is absolutely essential. The fact that it has taken us this long, because of—the complexity in this area of law, I think, at the end of the day, was a motivating factor to get it done. The process to get this done, in my view, has been that secret ingredient—not so secret now—for success that has resulted in us being at this point.

I often asked this question: If everybody thinks that the legislation is outdated—and it has been 34 years since the last changes—and if everybody within the entire pyramid thinks that it is time, why is it that we have not been able to accomplish that? The answer I always got was just that we were never able to find a consensus. We never were able to land in one place where everybody said, “You know what? In the grand scheme of things, with everything being equal, I’m comfortable with this.” Those divergent interests always got in the way.

What became clear was that we needed a process—a process, perhaps, that was independent of the government’s traditional policy-making process—to get to that point, for two very important reasons. One was the expertise needed in the subject matter area, because it is very unique. It’s a niche area which requires technical know-how and expertise, both from the perspective of how the construction sector works and operates, and all the nuances in it from a business practices point of view, but also legal know-how in terms of how things are done here in Ontario, and then, of course, taking that to experiences around other jurisdictions.

Another reason why this file had not moved for such a long period of time was that you needed experts who could bring people together, to bring all that knowledge into one place.

We were successful in doing that. I’m not taking the credit for that success, that somehow we knew it was going to work that way. Thought went into having an independent process. But I think that the people we got—people who brought their expertise, people like Bruce Reynolds and Sharon Vogel—they made it into a success.

They were able to not only bring their expertise but also their relationships into this process, by bringing people together who they knew were important in the sector and who trusted them to be honest brokers—people who are good people, who know the industry well and who are doing the work to improve the law. They are independent from the government, so they’re not doing anybody’s bidding, as the case tends to be in our system—which I’m not criticizing. It exists for good reason, that healthy tension.

They were able to separate the traditional government policy-making function, on an independent level, from the expertise they brought and all the different parties’ points of view, and then, very methodically and meticulously, work through the different phases in gathering the different points of view, and seeing where the points of consensus were and the points of discord and then bridging that gap, to the point that they were able to give us an independent report, upon which we made a commitment that we would run with this report and then continue to work with them to make it happen.

It’s interesting, Speaker. When I received the report and I finally read it, as I mentioned earlier—of course, I met with Bruce and Sharon, to make their acquaintance and work with them, but then I asked them if we could convene that expert advisory group to come together. The advice I got from every single person around that table—and, by the way, I thought they paid them to say that, but they assured me they did not—was to keep these two people on board as the government works through the report, because—and I will say this because it was said to me—there was a certain magic that was developed in that whole process. The word “magic” was used, and we don’t want to lose that magic.

I made an undertaking and a commitment to the panel that will not only keep Sharon and Bruce engaged in the process from report to policy development to legislation drafting, but also the expert panel as well and their expertise, because they were bringing perspectives from different people. They were making sure that not just one perspective is being heard but all the perspectives are being heard. It was a very interesting process for us to get to the point.

Of course, nothing is perfect in life, and I’m sure everybody would want something a little bit different here or there. I don’t think anybody expected where we’d be. In fact, one of the questions posed to me again and again was, “Are you really sure that you will table this legislation in the spring?” I think there were doubters out there who thought that we would not get to the point where we would be able to table the legislation or have it debated in the House.

I am really excited and thrilled that here we are, the second day into the fall sitting. We are debating Bill 142. We have started the second reading debate. I know that there is a lot of interest on behalf of all three political parties and all the members on this piece of legislation. Everybody is anxious to get this second reading debate done so the bill can get to the committee.

I think the committee process on this bill is very important so that we can hear from people like Bruce and Sharon directly. I’m sure they will be able to give us a lot of answers. I caution you: There are no short answers. They know this area inside out. You will be impressed by their expertise, but also with other members of the expert panels and other stakeholders that I mentioned in my remarks earlier.

I think it’s important that we get to the committee as soon as possible on this bill so that we can bring the outside voices who have been part of this process for the last two or so years and even longer and get their counsel directly so that we can make the tweaks of the amendments that we need to do—there’s always some of that in the committee process; it’s an important part of the process because it’s such a technical piece of legislation—and on for third reading. The sooner we can pass it, the sooner we can work on the regulations and the transition phase.

As I committed, we will make sure that we give ample notice to everyone as to when certain parts of the legislation will get implemented.

This is one big important step that we are here for today. There are a lot of important steps to come, but we need to make sure we can get it through this House. I very much look forward to working with all the members and again thank our friends for being here and for the work they have done. If we could give them a big round of applause for the work they’ve done, I’d really appreciate it.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): You’ve earned a drink of water after that one-hour presentation.

Questions and comments?

Mr. Victor Fedeli: It was an interesting hour. Right off the bat, I would like to say that the PC Party has long advocated to bring prompt payment legislation to Ontario. We are encouraged to see that.

Interjection: Hear, hear.

Mr. Victor Fedeli: “Hear, hear” is right. However, Speaker—and there’s always a “however”—after telling you that we will be looking favourably on this and we did enjoy the hour-long presentation, I think it all comes down to trust. Being trustworthy is the most important thing. When we hear this party tell us things, we are always skeptical because the things they say never seem to be reality. We worry when we hear the member speak.

I will give you a great example. Just yesterday, the Minister of Labour spoke. He was answering a question from one of his members. He was talking about the economy in Ontario. I will give you the quote from Hansard. He said, “Manufacturing exports are up.” That was his quote yesterday.

Well, sad news, again. I will read you from the Ontario Economic Briefing. The headline is “July Trade Deteriorates.”

Interjections.

Mr. Victor Fedeli: I am speaking to truth. “Exports fell sharply.... Total international merchandise exports from Ontario fell 22% in July over June.”

He talked about the fact that manufacturing exports are up when, indeed, the line is, “Exports have declined while imports have risen,” so he’s got it backwards.

Again, I go to the discussion of truth. We need to hear the truth from this party, and that is, sadly, what we don’t hear in Ontario.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions and comments?

Mrs. Lisa Gretzky: It’s my pleasure to rise on behalf of my constituents to add my two minutes’ worth to the bill before us, the Construction Lien Amendment Act, known as prompt payment.

I don’t think you have to look much further than my riding to see a prime example of the government’s failure to look after businesses in this province. They built the Herb Gray Parkway in my riding, and it came to light that the large international company that was put in charge of the build had actually allowed the installation of faulty girders. This is a very dangerous situation. They could have failed and people could have died. The local people in Windsor were alerting them to this fact.

When the multinational company finally decided to do something about it, what they did was they took their toys and went home. By that, I mean they took off out of town and left all the subcontractors without payment. We had long-standing, very reputable companies in Windsor that were looking at going out of business because they had put so much money into the build of the Herb Gray Parkway but never got paid by this multinational company.

Rather than the government owning up to the mistake and saying, “You know what? We’re going to try and do something to stop this from happening ever again,” they went on to award that multinational more government jobs after they left people in this province without payment.

I think this is something that we see historically, so it’s nice to see that the government is now trying to do something around prompt payment. There’s still a lot of work that needs to be done as far as taking care of workers in this province. Frankly, all we have to look at is today, where Sears Canada is going to court to try to dissolve their obligation to pay their workers’ pensions while taking care of the CEOs and the people at the top. This Liberal government has done nothing to protect those workers or other workers in this province.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions and comments?

Mr. Mike Colle: It’s funny how the opposition Conservatives won’t talk about the Construction Lien Act. This is a monumental piece of work, mostly done by all the expert panels, the people in the construction industry, legal firms, subcontractors, major contractors. These are the backbone of the Ontario economy that have come to the government asking for a new framework to deal with construction liens in a reasonable fashion: to take it out of the courts, to expedite it. There are win-win situations for everybody, in contracting, people involved with litigation, and the people of Ontario who benefit from the infrastructure.

This is not an easy undertaking. It has taken months and months of work by the volunteer members of the expert panel. I myself am familiar with Jeffrey Long from Koskie Minsky, an excellent lawyer who got great advice from Guido Presenza in this undertaking. Again, it is something we need in Ontario. It is something that we sometimes don’t think enough about, because these construction projects are very complex, whether you do a small construction project around your home or whether you do a massive construction project which takes place in my riding.

The largest construction project in North America is taking place in my riding in the building of the Eglinton Crosstown from Scarborough all the way to Mount Dennis. You can imagine the complexity of this kind of work that takes place in Ontario.

In Ontario, we have incredibly talented engineers, skills and tradespeople, and we need this coordinated approach to make sure there’s prompt payment. That’s why we need to support this legislation.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Further questions and comments.

Mr. Steve Clark: Actually, the member for Eglinton–Lawrence is wrong. Progressive Conservatives want to talk about this bill. We’ve long advocated for prompt payment legislation in Ontario. I think we’ve recognized for many, many years that this is one of the most serious issues facing the construction industry in this province, so I’m pleased to be able to speak to it.

In fact, when I was elected in 2010, one of the first groups that I met with here at Queen’s Park was the Council of Ontario Construction Associations. I remember having a discussion with them about prompt payment. Actually, in 2011, I asked them if they wanted me to present a private member’s bill, and they felt at that time, before the 2011 election, that the government was going to pass the legislation. The Attorney General can correct me if I’ve got the numbers wrong, but I think, at the time, it was Bill 211 that was tabled before the Legislature. It died on the order paper when the general election was called.

Again, I had that same conversation with COCA in 2013. Again, they politely declined me tabling a private member’s bill in favour of the government. I think the bill at the time was Bill 69. The reason I remember this is that I ended up tabling a bill, Bill 70, for regulated health professionals that actually got passed. When I have meetings with COCA now, I point out that unfortunately Bill 69 didn’t get passed, but there’s Bill 70 on my wall that received royal assent.

I am glad the government is putting it forward. I know that the last time municipalities and school boards put up a fairly significant opposition. Perhaps the Attorney General would like to talk about some of the discussions he has had with those sectors.

As well, he is the government House leader. I am very encouraged to find out, Speaker, through you, if he’s going to invoke closure or what type of public hearings he is going to have. I look forward to those questions and comments being addressed in his speech.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Back to the Attorney General for final comments.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I want to thank the members from Nipissing, Windsor West, Eglinton–Lawrence and Leeds–Grenville. I heard some substantive comments in members’ remarks and some political potshots, and that’s fine. But I take those political potshots as inferring that they agree with the substance, so they’re just going to politics.

Speaker, there’s a reason I spent a considerable amount of time talking about the process resulting in this bill. I don’t know about other members, but I trust our experts. I trust their integrity, I trust their expertise and I trust the fact that they have worked very closely with us in developing this bill.

This is a highly technical piece of legislation, and we need to make sure that we continue to work with our experts. The time and the effort and the expertise they have put into it—I think, in respect of them, we should keep politics aside and make sure that we talk about this very important technical bill. These are people’s lives we’re talking about, Speaker; these are people’s livelihoods we’re talking about, people who get paid for the work they do and want to make sure that it happens in a prompt fashion.

The challenge we’ve had, as I mentioned, with the previous bills—and Bill 69 was the bill from the member from Vaughan; I thank him for the work done—is that there was that lack of consensus and it was missing other pieces. What we needed to do is take a holistic approach where we look at modernizing the lien and the holdback system and we look at creating a new prompt-payment system, but coupled with a simplified adjudication process.

The beauty of Bill 142, thanks to our experts, is that we were able to bring all of those very important pieces together—not just take a slice of it, but look at the entire construction sector, the entire system within it, and build a consensus along with school boards and other public and private partners in creating this bill.

I look forward to hearing substantive remarks from members here and in committee so we can pass this bill by third reading.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): Thank you very much.

Second reading debate deemed adjourned.

The Acting Speaker (Mr. Rick Nicholls): It’s now 10:15, and this House stands recessed until 10:30.

The House recessed from 1014 to 1030.

Introduction of Visitors

Mrs. Gila Martow: I’d just like to welcome the Canadian PBC—which stands for primary biliary cholangitis—Society. We have a constituent of mine, Elisa Applebaum, here in the House today. They’re here with us to mark International PBC Day, which took place on Sunday. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Today I’d like to introduce, in the members’ gallery, Emilia De Simone, who is the mother of page Alessandro De Simone, who comes from the great riding of Oakville. Please welcome them to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Lorne Coe: It’s my pleasure to welcome to the Legislature Patrick Deane, the president and vice-chancellor of McMaster University, and Suzanne Labarge, the chancellor of McMaster University. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Ted McMeekin: I’d like to introduce Jesse Arruda. He is the father of Michael Arruda, one of our pages, and he’s in the Speaker’s gallery this morning.

Ms. Sylvia Jones: Please join me in welcoming Sheila Wright, a constituent from the beautiful riding of Dufferin–Caledon, here for the first PBC Awareness Day at Queen’s Park, for primary biliary cholangitis. Welcome.

Mr. Yvan Baker: I’m thrilled to introduce two wonderful people here at the Legislature. We have with us today Andrew Clubine, who is the president of the Ontario Undergraduate Student Alliance, and Sophie Helpard, who is the executive director. They do wonderful work in post-secondary. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mrs. Julia Munro: I’m pleased to welcome Barbara Badstober as a local representative of the Canadian PBC Society. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Jim Wilson: Today I’d like to welcome to Queen’s Park Ms. Jane Waters from Wasaga Beach. Jane is here with the Canadian Primary Biliary Cholangitis Society and for PBC Awareness Day. Welcome, Jane.

Hon. Peter Z. Milczyn: Please welcome to the Legislature today the mother of page Benjamin Leray, Ms. Hanca Chang.

Mrs. Julia Munro: I’m also pleased to announce that we have page Rachel Marshall here, a student in my riding, and to welcome her to Queen’s Park to be a page.

Ms. Cindy Forster: We’re going to be joined here this morning by Willy Noiles, president of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups; Jenny Zhou, an injured worker; Aidan Macdonald, a community legal worker; and probably another 20 injured workers as well as members of the Ontario Network of Injured Workers Groups.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I’d like to welcome the Canadian PBC Society to the Legislature today, as well, including a number of my constituents: Gail Wright, Morgan Smyth, Nancy Stewart and Lenore Bennett. They’re here with us to mark International Primary Biliary Cholangitis Day, which took place on Sunday. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Mr. Wayne Gates: I’d like to welcome one of my constituents from Niagara-on-the-Lake, Mr. Paul Mace. Welcome to Queen’s Park.

Hon. David Zimmer: I’d like to welcome two constituents from Willowdale, Sheila Kos and Dorry Korn. Both are here with the primary biliary cholangitis society. Welcome.

Correction of record

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Bruce–Grey–Owen Sound on a point of order.

Mr. Bill Walker: I would like to correct my record. I mentioned in yesterday’s member’s statement on childhood cancer awareness that Dr. Corin Greenberg founded the Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario. POGO was in fact founded by her husband, Dr. Mark Greenberg, and Corin joined in 1987. I’d like to apologize for that mistake and correct my record.

Legislative pages

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): At this time I’m sure the members would join me in welcoming this session’s legislative pages serving in the second session of the 41st Parliament. Please assemble.

We have a little scurrying going on because you’re using the pages wisely.

From Oak Ridges–Markham, Adam Pariag; from Oakville, Alessandro De Simone; from Markham–Unionville, Andy Wei; from Whitby–Oshawa, Archana Jagannathan; from Don Valley East, Ariana Hadjiyianni; from Etobicoke–Lakeshore, Benjamin Leray; from Thunder Bay–Atikokan, Eva Schubert—

Oh, wait a minute. I might have—

Interjection: You skipped four people.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I did.

Charlotte Sellner from Chatham–Kent–Essex; from St. Paul’s, Cole Banville; from Niagara West–Glanbrook, Duncan VanPagee; from Parkdale–High Park, Emerson Manning; from Thunder Bay–Atikokan, Eva Schubert—we get a second time with this one—from the great riding of Brant, Greg Bannister; from Mississauga–Erindale, Javan Mayrand; from Ancaster–Dundas–Flamborough–Westdale, Michael Arruda; from Scarborough–Guildwood, Milind Patel; from Lambton–Kent–Middlesex, Nicola Noordermeer; from Renfrew–Nipissing–Pembroke, Olivia Groskleg; from York–Simcoe, Rachel Marshall; from Pickering–Scarborough East, Rachel McNeilly; and from Eglinton–Lawrence, William Burchell.

These are our pages for this session.

Applause.

Decorum in chamber

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): After reviewing yesterday’s question period in Hansard, I just want to bring to everyone’s attention that accusations cannot be made against another member in the House.

I have listened carefully to the questions; most of them fit within the realm of a reasonable question period, and answers as well, but there are some times where it was going too close to an accusation towards another member. I will be watching and listening carefully and ruling on those as they happen.

I would ask that all members respect the rules that are in the House, and I thank you.

Therefore, it is time for question period.

Oral Questions

Opioid abuse

Mr. Patrick Brown: My question is for the Premier. I would like to ask her about Sudbury, but I don’t need the Attorney General telling me that it is before the courts. We all know it’s before the courts. We all know that Liberal ethics and integrity are before the courts. We all know—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation has continued while I stood, and so now I’m going to give him a warning. The member is now warned.

The banter back and forth is not helpful.

Please finish.

Mr. Patrick Brown: We all know the alleged bribery is before the courts. We all know that Liberal political corruption is before the courts. So I’m not going to ask about that, because I want a real answer.

Mr. Speaker, will the Premier support the member from Kitchener–Conestoga’s Illegal Pill Press Act? Will the Premier help put a stop to the use of these machines by drug dealers across Ontario?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I know that the Minister of Health is going to want to speak to the details on this, but I want to just assure the House and the people of Ontario that the opioid crisis that has seized not just this province but jurisdictions all over the world is something that we are taking very, very seriously, that we are fighting. We have put literally hundreds of millions of dollars into the front line, into services and supports for the people who are on that front line and who are dealing with this very, very serious situation.

I have had an opportunity to sit down with a number of people who are front-line workers. I sat down last week with the Minister of Health, the Chief Medical Officer of Health and the chief coroner to get the best advice, both from the front-line workers and those officials, on what more we could do to fight this public health crisis.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: My question is again for the Premier. While the Premier spends her time testifying tomorrow during the Sudbury bribery trial, the Ontario PC Party is going to continue to fight for better mental health and addiction services.

Research provided by the Ontario Drug Policy Research Network shows that two Ontarians die every day from opioid overdoses. I have always said there’s no monopoly on a good idea, and the Premier has an opportunity here. There is a tool kit here for fighting this opioid—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Chief government whip, come to order. It sounds to me like there are a few members who need to be told that they’re moving to warnings. It stops.

Carry on, please.

Mr. Patrick Brown: There are a number of ways we can combat this opioid crisis. One of those tools in the tool kit is this Illegal Pill Press Act, the idea and the suggestion from the member from Kitchener–Conestoga. Rather than partisan responses, what I would hope is that the Premier would say, “This is a good idea. We’re going to look at it; we’re going to embrace it. We’re going to support the member from Kitchener–Conestoga.”

So, can we count on the Premier to do that? Will you help those families that are struggling with this opioid crisis?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, I work every day for the people of Ontario, and I will continue to do that, this week and next week and the week after.

I agree that there is no patent on a good idea. It doesn’t matter where it comes from. The Minister of Health, in the final supplementary, will speak to that.

Let me just talk for one moment about the things that we are doing, because we do have a strategy. We are working to fight the opioid crisis, and let me just talk about some of those things.

We are providing an immediate $222-million boost over three years to prevent opioid addiction and overdose. We are adding more front-line harm reduction workers across the province. I heard that from the front-line workers, that they needed that, that they need more numbers in their ranks. We’re expanding the supply of naloxone and doing it free of charge. We’re expanding rapid-access addiction medicine clinics and access to those across Ontario.

The Minister of Health will speak to the other issue.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Final supplementary.

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Premier: I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a response on the illegal pill press suggestion from the MPP from Kitchener–Conestoga.

Another way that we can help with this is by understanding that there’s a lack of education, a lack of awareness of just how lethal this is. Just two milligrams of fentanyl is a lethal dose. Pills are flooding our communities.

Right now, the government has this massive advertising campaign. The government advertising budget is now $57 million, up $32 million. Instead of using this money for partisan vanity ads that the Auditor General has already criticized, can we not have a commitment from the government to use some of their advertising budget to actually fight the opioid crisis and to actually raise education and awareness on the opioid crisis?

I didn’t get a response on the illegal pill press suggestion. This is another solution in the tool kit.

Directly to the Premier: Can we count on her support for an advertising campaign—instead of vanity ads—to help fight this opioid crisis?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Of course, we are investing dollars and working with stakeholders in developing a robust, appropriate—and sensitive, as well—and effective public education campaign. That’s necessary. It’s impossible to address this comprehensively unless we do that. We’re already doing that.

When it comes to pill presses, the leader of the official opposition should know—I mean, he was a federal member of Parliament—that the federal government just passed C-37, which includes a provision that prohibits the unregistered importation of designated devices, such as pill presses.

Frankly, it’s overly simplistic, and it fits with their law-and-order approach to this crisis, that they would focus on something as simplistic as pill presses. That’s not going to solve this problem. You need a multi-faceted approach, like we have, investing almost $300 million over the next two and a half years.

I’m still waiting for any good idea that we can embrace that will prove effective. I want to know what the member opposite thinks about safe injection sites as well. Do you support them?

Greenhouse gas emissions

Mr. Patrick Brown: My question is for the Premier. A few months ago, the government announced a $6.7-billion purchase of a foreign energy company. As part of the deal, Ontario decided to get back in the coal business.

While the Premier is testifying in Sudbury at the bribery scandal, Hydro One will go ahead with the purchase of the second-largest coal plant west of the Mississippi. Despite what this government says, there really is only one pro-coal party in the Legislature, and that’s your Ontario Liberal Party. The Liberals now own one of the US’s top 20 greenhouse-gas-producing power plants. That goes against everything the Premier pretends to stand for.

Mr. Speaker, a very direct question to the Premier: When will the Liberals and Hydro One be shutting down their shiny new dirty coal plant?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I recall, as we shut down the last coal-fired plant and in the run-up to that, I remember—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): The member from Leeds–Grenville will come to order.

Carry on, please, Premier.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I remember, Mr. Speaker, because you recognized, and I know the member opposite does, that the shutting down of the coal-fired plants in Ontario is the single largest initiative to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in North America. I recall a certain Prime Minister—a previous Prime Minister in whose government this member sat—touting how well Canada was doing on reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The record of Canada rested entirely on the results that we had here in Ontario shutting down coal and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. That is our record here in Ontario.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please.

Supplementary.

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Premier: I did not get a response about this decision of Ontario to buy a coal plant.

Not only did the Premier’s new purchase come with a coal plant; now the deal comes with what the Sierra Club called “an 800-acre toxic soup waste site.” Doug Howell, senior campaign organizer for Sierra said, “One thing ... you ... need to understand is that you’re not just getting a coal plant; you’re getting a toxic waste site and all the liabilities that go with it.” Howell added that “Avista might be on the hook for $100 million of cleanup. Where’s that coming from? Well, thank you Hydro One....”

Thank you, Premier. You’re putting Ontario on the hook for this. Mr. Speaker, how much will Hydro One ratepayers be paying for this coal plant’s toxic waste cleanup?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Energy.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: I’m pleased to rise and answer that question—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister.

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: —because it just shows the lack of understanding of the energy system on that side of the House, because Ontario ratepayers will pay zero, Mr. Speaker. Just like their plan, it’s nothing. There is no plan coming from that side: 194 days since they talked about coming up with some idea on what to do with the energy sector.

What we’ve done is we’ve reduced rates by 25%, making sure every family and household in this province actually sees that reduction. Again, Mr. Speaker, zero from that side of the House.

When it comes to Avista, they’re a progressive utility by most standards, ahead of the curve on technologies like net metering, EVs and biomass, and this just goes to show how far ahead of the curve we are when it comes to eliminating coal—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Final supplementary?

Mr. Patrick Brown: Again to the Premier: I get that their talking points on this are, “Attack the opposition. Attack others.” The reality is that they bought a dirty coal plant. The Ontario Liberal government that pretended to be against dirty coal is now in the business of buying coal.

Maybe it’s that the Liberal members have lost their values. Maybe they no longer oppose coal. But it appears that one Liberal may have a different approach: former Liberal MPP Glen Murray. I wish him all the best on his new career, and I want to ask this direct question to the Premier: Did the former Minister of the Environment resign his seat from cabinet and his seat in the Legislature because he was so disappointed and could not support the government’s decision to get back in the business of dirty coal?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. Be seated, please. Order.

Minister?

Hon. Glenn Thibeault: Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I know Glen Murray is very proud to say that it was this government that shut down coal plants. That’s like taking seven million cars off the road. You know, Glen Murray can actually talk about our energy system being 92% GHG-free. That’s something that this government has done, against what they were saying. Always the “no” party on that side. I know PC stands for “pro coal,” Mr. Speaker, and also “no.”

But let’s talk about a few things that happened. While they are sitting on their hands, plenty has happened in the world. Spring has turned, and summer, and now summer is turning into fall. Our kids have finished one grade and they’ve started another. Others have graduated high school and gone on to college and university and are getting free tuition, Mr. Speaker.

That’s all, again, while they sit on their hands. It’s 194 days. They have no idea what to do with energy. They have no idea what to do in this province. We’ll continue to govern for the people in Ontario, Mr. Speaker.

Hospital funding

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is to the Premier. Yesterday, the Ontario Hospital Association called on the Premier to immediately commit to rapid and aggressive new investment in Ontario hospitals. The OHA confirmed, in fact, what I have been hearing all over this province for far too long: The Conservative and Liberal cuts to health care have caused a crisis for Ontario families. People are waiting hours in the ER. They’re being forced to spend days on end on stretchers in hallways right here in Ontario’s hospitals.

When will this Premier stop the cuts and invest in the health care that Ontarians deserve?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I understand that the OHA issued a news release today and they are calling for more funding for Ontario’s hospitals. Mr. Speaker, we recognize that there needed to be more investment in hospitals, and that’s exactly why we’ve increased our investments in health, particularly in hospitals.

In our budget, there was a 2% minimum increase to each hospital across the province, an overall 3% investment—$500 million in Ontario’s hospitals that we put in place. That is an increase.

We have increased funding every single year. But we recognize that particularly for hospitals there needed to be a particular increase, and that’s why we put that funding in place.

We will continue to work with the OHA. We appreciate the work that they do.

As I said, we have recognized that there needed to be an increase to Ontario’s hospitals. That’s why it was in the budget.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: That’s why the Liberals didn’t listen to the OHA and actually reduced the amount that they asked for by $300 million just in this budget, in the 2017 budget. Perhaps they should rethink when they go to their budget process and actually listen to what those folks are saying.

What did the last Conservative government do? They closed 28 hospitals, fired 6,000 nurses—7,000 hospital beds gone.

When the Liberals came into power, instead of reversing the cuts, they froze health care spending for four years. For five years after that, they actually stopped increasing to inflation; they reduced the increases to below inflation. They continued to worsen the health care crisis across the province.

Hospitals are overcrowded. Without a major change, we’re going to be in big, big trouble.

When is this government going to start implementing the change we need instead of following in the footsteps of the previous Conservative government?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Well, Mr. Speaker, we are making multi-billion-dollar investments in the hospital sector, and I’m proud to say that the OHA stands beside us. They’re important stakeholders and partners, and we look to them for advice on an ongoing basis.

As the Premier mentioned a few moments ago, in the last two years more than a billion dollars went into hospitals specifically. Over the next 10 years, we’re putting $20 billion into hospital infrastructure, for new beds, for expansions, for redevelopments, for brand new hospitals. There are 34 projects either under way right now or in the planning stage across the province—a 3.1% funding increase. Of course, these are all matters that the third party, in the last budget, voted against.

As we have every single year, we will continue to make important investments, and we’re working with our partners, including the OHA, to do that effectively.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Final supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Ontario families know that our health care system is not working. Nurses and front-line health care workers know that our hospital and health care systems are not working. They know that long-term care is not working. Doctors know that our health care system isn’t working. And now hospital administrators are telling the Premier that the health care system in Ontario isn’t working. The Premier and the Minister of Health seem to be the only two people in Ontario who don’t recognize that the health care system isn’t working.

Is this Premier really that out of touch, or is it just not a priority for her Liberal government?

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, the leader of the third party is correct when she referenced the fact that when the PCs were in government they closed approximately 10,000 hospital beds. They’re correct when they said yesterday, I believe, that the PCs fired more than 7,000 nurses when they were in power.

But it’s important to recognize that in the five short years when the NDP were in power, they not only closed 24% of the acute-care beds in this hospital—close to the PC record, 9,645 hospital beds were closed by the NDP in five short years—but they closed, unbelievably, 13% of the mental health beds in this province as well. In their last budget, before they were defeated, they actually decreased the hospital funding by 1%.

So we’re not going to take lessons. We’re going to make the investments that our stakeholders ask us to make.

Seniors’ health services

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My next question is also for the Premier. The Ontario Hospital Association said that one of the causes of the crisis in hospitals right now is that there’s not enough care available for seniors outside of the hospital setting.

CEO Anthony Dale has called on the Premier and her Liberal government to make investments this year, just to stabilize the urgent situation in hospitals and also other care facilities like long-term-care homes.

What will the Premier be doing this year to make sure our parents and our grandparents have access to a safe place to live where they get the care that they need as they age?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: I appreciate the question from the leader of the third party because I think she has hit on and certainly has recognized, as we do, that this is a complex situation, that there is a continuum of care that is needed, a continuum of care that won’t be solved by just one initiative. That means that there are people in acute care beds in our hospitals who do need to be somewhere else.

I had the opportunity to meet with health care advisers and with the Minister of Health last week. We talked about just that: How do we make sure that in every community across this province, where there are people who are in an acute-care bed in a hospital, there is either the support for them to go home or there is a bed in a long-term-care home, or that we find ways to work, for example, with other sectors, with the retirement home sector, to find appropriate beds for these—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you. Supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: The people of Ontario should be able to access the care that they need when they need it; 14 years of Liberal government and they still can’t access the kind of care that they need when they need it. Our health care professionals should be given the resources that they need to provide the care to people in this province, the resources that they need to do their job.

Enough is enough. People all over Ontario are suffering at the hands of this Liberal government. The Premier has cut and frozen health care budgets for far too long, and she even refuses to do a broad inquiry into the dismal state of disrepair in our long-term-care system. How can this Premier ever even hope to fix our problems in long-term care if she refuses to figure out what the problems are?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Mr. Speaker, I’m going to ask the Minister of Health to comment in the last supplementary.

We have never frozen or cut the health budget—never. We have increased the health budget year after year after year.

I would just say to the leader of the third party, I recognize and we recognize that this is a complex issue. We recognize that as the demographics shift and as our parents and our grandparents age—and as we age; those of us who are baby boomers—there is going to need to be a continuum of solutions. This is not a simple fix. There isn’t a single thing that we can do.

My mum is going to be 89 in a couple of weeks, and my dad is 91. I can tell the leader of the third party that it’s not a simple thing to be with people as they age and to help them find the right place to be. That story is being played out across this province.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Final supplementary?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Obviously, the Liberal government is not up to solving complex issues when they increase the health care budget and they still can’t solve the problems in our health care system. Shame on them. This Premier should not be proud of this record.

The care homes that our parents and our grandparents live in are understaffed; that’s no secret. Perhaps she hasn’t been in one, but they’re understaffed and the front-line workers are forced to do too much with too little. Our hospital association is warning that a crisis is coming. A serious crisis is coming if something isn’t done immediately about the Liberal cuts.

Why is this Premier so out of touch that she doesn’t see that health care is a priority for the people of Ontario, even if it isn’t a priority for this Liberal government?

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please.

Premier?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Health and Long-Term Care.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: I have to say that I do appreciate the fact that the leader of the third party finally actually did acknowledge that our health care budget increased this year, just like it has every single year since 2003. It has never been frozen; it has never been cut. It has increased year after year after year.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Hospital budgets have been frozen. Absolutely, they have. Be honest.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, that includes—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Leader of the third party, come to order.

Finish, please.

Hon. Eric Hoskins: Mr. Speaker, that includes our funding. Over the next three years, we are investing an additional $11 billion into our health care system. That includes, in this year’s budget, important investments that will result in individuals being able to see shorter wait times, more long-term care, better staffing, and alternatives to long-term care. We’re investing $100 million into a dementia strategy.

We’re making the investments—not where the third party necessarily wants them, but where our stakeholders and patients and Ontarians need—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

New question.

Autism treatment

Mr. Michael Harris: My question is to the Premier. A year after I tabled the Ontario Service Dogs Act, those with disabilities requiring service dogs still await the legislated accommodations that they should already be guaranteed.

While the Premier makes her Sudbury bribery trial debut tomorrow, we will be continuing to fight for the rights of children with autism here at Queen’s Park. We will continue to fight for the accommodations that have been denied to a nine-year-old Kitchener boy with autism, Kenner Fee—accommodations that should be guaranteed and yet were denied by the Waterloo Catholic school board and now the human rights tribunal.

Will the Premier join our fight for this vital access and step in to ensure that Kenner and other children with autism don’t have their required service dogs taken away from them when they get to school?

Hon. Tracy MacCharles: I want to thank the member for this important question. Of course, our government is very committed to continuing to break down the barriers faced by people with disabilities and those needing supports and accommodations.

I know that the Minister of Education will follow up in the supplementary in terms of the issue in the school board in question.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Michael Harris: Perhaps so, because we all know that, in this particular case, schools are not public facilities and therefore are denied.

AODA regulations already mandate service dog accommodations, as the minister mentioned. The Ontario Human Rights Code speaks to the duty to accommodate persons with disabilities.

Doctors, teachers and international training schools have all testified to the importance of nine-year-old Kenner’s service dog, Ivy. Yet Kenner is still denied his service dog at school. What’s worse, Kenner is one of many with autism, PTSD, hearing or other disabilities requiring service dogs being denied access.

While Ontarians raise their voices with my petition to open access to registered service dogs and owners, I’m asking the Premier to save us the signing, sending and tabling of that petition. If she believes in accommodations for service dog users, she could step in today. Will she do it? Will the Premier step in and ensure that the public accommodations that Kenner and so many requiring service dogs should be already guaranteed?

Hon. Tracy MacCharles: Minister of Education.

We want to have programs and supports in place, whether that means individual accommodations, having extra time, physical alterations to the classroom—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

New question.

By-election in Sudbury

Ms. Catherine Fife: My question is to the Premier. Premier, the people of this province deserve a government that respects the democratic process, but at the Sudbury trial yesterday, we learned that your party only abides by the democratic process when it benefits them.

Instead of having a democratic nomination race like the local riding association wanted, there was confusion about who would become the candidate. First, there were rumours that Mr. Olivier would be appointed; then, the Minister of Energy was appointed.

Was—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. Come to order.

Hon. Charles Sousa: You were appointed. You didn’t even have a nomination contest.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Minister of Finance, come to order.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Start the clock.

Finish, please.

Ms. Catherine Fife: I realize that the government does not want to hear this question, but the people of this province know that the Premier is going to court—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock.

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Best comment I’ve heard; we will.

Try again, please.

Ms. Catherine Fife: Was the Premier aware that the Sudbury riding association had requested a democratic nomination meeting and not an appointment from her office? It’s a simple question.

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Attorney General.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: I would reminder the members again, as I did yesterday, that this line of questioning is inappropriate. This matter is before the courts. The member opposite knows that—

Interjection.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Member from Hamilton Mountain, come to order.

Finish, please.

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: As I was saying, this matter is before the courts. It would be highly inappropriate to answer any questions in relation to the proceedings that are ongoing.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Catherine Fife: Again to the Premier: In exchange for becoming the Liberal candidate in Sudbury, two of the Minister of Energy’s former staffers receive paid positions from the Liberal Party. These paid positions are well documented in emails.

Clearly there was a lot of pressure to appease not only the Minister of Energy, but also the riding association and Mr. Olivier. In fact, Ms. Sorbara is on the record with Mr. Olivier: “Of course you recognize the position that we’re going to find ourselves in here ... where she’s going to have to make a decision around the appointment ... versus, allowing this to go ahead.”

To the Premier: Is that why you agreed to the Minister of Energy’s demands?

Hon. Yasir Naqvi: The opposition is fully entitled to waste their time by asking questions that they know are inappropriate to ask in this House because they relate to a legal proceeding.

On this side of the House, this Premier and this government will continue to focus on issues that will result in building a fairer Ontario like raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour so that we have fairer workplaces, like making sure that one third of all full-time students in our province are attending college and university for free, like what we have seen with more new students able to go to college and university—because in the past they were not able to do so—because of the policy changes we have brought forward in making sure that kids from low-income families are able to attend college and university.

These are the kinds of things that the people from Sudbury and from all across Ontario are working for. That’s what they expect of their government.

Housing policy

Mrs. Cristina Martins: My question this morning is to the Minister of Housing and minister responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy. Let me start by congratulating him on his appointment to cabinet.

This summer I had the opportunity to talk to my constituents in Davenport about how our government is helping people get ahead in an ever-changing economy, from the many changes to OSAP and providing free tuition for many families across Ontario to OHIP+, which will be providing over 4,400 prescription medications for free to those under 25.

I’ve also talked a lot about rent control, and I’ve heard from families in Davenport that they feel there is a greater sense of stability and fairness in the rental market. Some advocates would like to see the removal of vacancy decontrol, which means that when a unit becomes empty, a landlord can increase the rent by whatever they want.

Speaker, through you, can the minister explain why the government has not removed vacancy decontrol?

Hon. Peter Z. Milczyn: I want to thank the member from Davenport for the important question. Our policies, like rent control, are designed to create greater fairness and opportunity for the people of Ontario. Thanks to our Fair Housing Plan, all renters—and I repeat, all renters—in Ontario now know their rent is not going to increase beyond 2.5%.

At the same time, our government understands that if more landlords are participating in the rental housing market, there will be more affordable choices available for tenants. Through our plan, landlords will continue to have the predictability and flexibility to negotiate starting rents based on current market values with new tenants as well as with vacant units.

We are going to continue to implement our plan, working hard to ensure that the rental system is fair for all Ontarians.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Mrs. Cristina Martins: I’m glad the government has listened to the concerns of the people in my riding of Davenport and enacted the Fair Housing Plan to protect renters across the province from sudden, dramatic rent increases.

Again to the Minister of Housing and the minister responsible for the Poverty Reduction Strategy: Rental and housing prices are rising in centres of prosperity around the world, including the greater Golden Horseshoe area. One of the primary reasons is because people want to live in great communities like Davenport and Etobicoke–Lakeshore. With more than 80,000 people coming to Ontario each year, it’s important that we are able to keep up with the growing demand for housing. People in my riding of Davenport want to make sure that we maintain a healthy supply of housing for the people in Ontario. What is this government doing to ensure that Ontario maintains a healthy supply of housing?

Hon. Peter Z. Milczyn: Our government, under the leadership of Premier Wynne, is committed to making it easier for the people of Ontario to buy or rent a home. Our plan is to increase supply and rein in speculation. It’s about creating stability in the market and addressing affordability.

It’s exactly for that reason that our Fair Housing Plan contains a $125-million program to help stimulate more rental housing. It’s why we are freeing up provincial lands to develop up to 2,000 new units of housing. It’s why we’ve created a dedicated housing development group to improve planning timelines, cut red tape and get shovels in the ground. It’s why we’re working with our municipal partners to get secondary suites on the market as quickly as possible.

Our government, unlike the Conservatives, supports housing in Ontario, and supports social housing, affordable housing and market housing and will work to—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Stop the clock. Be seated, please.

New question.

Child care

Mr. Bill Walker: My question is for the education minister. While the Premier testifies tomorrow in the Sudbury bribery trial, the Ontario PC Party is fighting for child care spaces for children, especially in rural Ontario. Parents whose children were in before- and after-school child care spaces in schools that you closed are scrambling to find another option. I want to know: How many child care spaces could have stayed open if you hadn’t shut down all those schools across Ontario?

Hon. Mitzie Hunter: To the minister responsible for women’s issues and for child care.

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: I’m proud to rise today and talk about some of the great work we’re doing when it comes to transforming the way we deliver child care in this province. Let’s not forget that we are making historic—historic—investments in child care and that we are pledging to move forward with 100,000 new child care spaces.

But I’d like to thank the member opposite for the question, because the early years are important and we want to give children the best start in life. In doing that, our number one priority is to make sure that we are delivering programs that are safe and in good situations for our children. What we are doing is asking our schools to be able to provide parents, where desired, before- and after-school care on demand in the numbers that they require.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Mr. Bill Walker: You’re right. It is historic and transforming when you close 700 schools across this great province. I’m not certain how it can be safe when there are no places for them to go to. In my riding alone, you still haven’t announced if you will reinstate closed schools or what will happen with the licensed before- and after-school and child care spaces at Paisley Central and Beavercrest schools.

I want to know, Minister: How many daycare spaces did you close when you shut down 700 schools across Ontario and how many millions of dollars did you waste shutting them down?

Hon. Indira Naidoo-Harris: We know that for most families, the workday doesn’t begin and end with the school bell. That’s why our government is committing to make sure school boards offer before- and after-school programming for six- and 12-year-olds. It’s a commitment we made to families in 2014. Starting in September of this year, we have been delivering. We have been delivering on that promise across the province.

Let me just tell you some of the things that we are doing. We are increasing access for families and children by building on the success of full-day kindergarten. We have created flexibility in the system. We have revised our framework so that we can enhance and build on existing practices. The bottom line is that these families are benefitting from these changes. I believe the last number was that 83% of schools in the province were supplying before- and after-school care to those families when they needed it.

Workers’ compensation

Ms. Cindy Forster: We’re joined in the members’ gallery today by the Ontario Network of Injured Workers and a number of injured workers in this province.

For many years, the Ontario workers’ compensation system has failed workers who find themselves injured on the job. As it stands today, if you’re a worker in this province who gets hurt while at work, unable to continue doing that job and reliant on benefits from compensation to meet your needs or your family’s needs—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): I suspect it’s to the Minister of Labour, but I need to hear it.

Ms. Cindy Forster: To the Premier, please.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): To the Premier? All right, I don’t suspect. It’s the Premier.

Ms. Cindy Forster: WSIB relies on a policy called deeming; that is, pretending that a worker has a job that you don’t actually have to cut your benefit payments. For a government that claims to be so in tune with fairness and so in tune with workers in this province, it has led workers into deeper and deeper poverty.

When will the government put an end to deeming and fix the failed WSIB policies?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Labour.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you to the honourable member for that question. The number one priority of the Minister of Labour—the person who occupies that seat—and the Ministry of Labour, as an organization, is to ensure that people who go to work in the morning come home safe and sound at the end of the day to their families. Ontario remains one of the safest places in the world to work. Unfortunately, we are not at zero yet. Accidents do happen; fatalities do happen.

And when they happen, the injured workers deserve the respect and the dignity of a good WSIB system that allows them to either return to work quickly or, if that isn’t possible, it allows them to live a life of respect and dignity with the earnings that should go along with that.

We have done a number of things to change that over the past few years. The member is right. I think if you go back in years, the system often didn’t work. I hope to address some of the things we have done in the supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Cindy Forster: Back to the Minister of Labour, then: We need to ensure that workers injured on the job receive the protections and the benefits they deserve. We have Jenny Zhou with us here today. She spent every day for five years on a knitting machine in a factory here in Toronto. After five years, she was sent home with a long list of repetitive strain injuries: back, severe carpal tunnel. She had surgery, and she could not return to work even though her injuries were confirmed by doctors.

But WSIB was able to cut her benefits, deeming that she could be a Walmart greeter—a phantom job that she could never get nor did she ever have. Jenny went into severe depression. She was unable to get treatment. She suffered from insomnia and she had to sell her house. She now lives in a basement just to make ends meet and she had to apply for CPP.

I ask this government again: When is the Premier going to fix our broken system of compensation and make sure that injured workers are given the benefits and protections that they need?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: Thank you again to the member for the supplementary. As I said, a priority of this government is treating people who have been injured on the job with the dignity and the respect that they deserve. We’re prepared to make those changes when the case is made that something should be changed.

For example, we brought in full indexation for both partially and fully disabled workers by this January, full CPI coverage that injured workers deserve, and new amendments we’ve brought forward in this year’s budget to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Act to end benefit clawbacks due to eligibility for Old Age Security benefits for those injured.

Speaker, you’d wonder what those two things had to do with each other. They are improvements to the act, they’re improvements to the way that things have been done, they’re improvements that have been made to the lot of injured workers in this province, and they are both things that that party voted against.

Now they’re standing in the House and telling us about improvements that could be made. When the case is made, and the case was made in 2007—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please.

New question.

Cycling policies

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: My question is for the Minister of Transportation. I know that one issue that many cyclists face is that they can’t ride their bike all the way to work, despite how much they would like to. Hopping on their bike is an important part of their day, but for some, the distance just doesn’t lend well to completing their trip this way. That’s why I know a number of cyclists who want to bike for part of their trip and take transit or carpool to close the gap.

But right now, many cyclists I talk to don’t have this option because the infrastructure to securely store their bike before heading to the next stretch of their trip just isn’t there yet. This is a problem, and one that I think deserves action from our government if we’re truly committed to promoting cycling in Ontario.

Would the minister please inform the members of this House if there are any plans to provide this much-needed cycling infrastructure?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: Of course, I want to begin by thanking the member from Barrie for her question and her ongoing, staunch advocacy for her community and for cycling and transit and highway infrastructure investments right across the province of Ontario.

Just this past spring, our government announced a historic investment of $50 million to support commuter cycling infrastructure right across Ontario. When we first announced this fund, we launched the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program and promised more news on other programs that will be coming with respect to this unprecedented investment.

Speaker, I’m so pleased to say that today I joined another colleague, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, in Burlington to provide that important update. This morning, we announced that we are making it easier for cyclists to safely store their bikes with eight new bike lockers at each of our 15 commuter parking lots across the GTHA, including the lot at Highway 400 and Essa Road up in Barrie.

This investment and more like it will help ensure that people finish the first and last mile of their trip by bike and encourage even more people to carpool—

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Thank you.

Supplementary?

Ms. Ann Hoggarth: Back to the minister: People in my community of Barrie are constantly looking for new active ways to get to work during the week and to get around the city with their families on the weekend. I’m so glad that the minister recognizes this and is taking important strides towards building a more cycling-friendly province.

In addition to the announcement this morning, we’re seeing important progress on a number of initiatives that enable and support cycling in Ontario, including the development of the #CycleON Action Plan 2.0, which will involve collaboration with stakeholders; Ontario’s Cycling Tourism Plan; and the Ontario Municipal Commuter Cycling Program.

The Minister of Transportation spoke about the carpool lots, including the lot in my community of Barrie, but I understand there was another important announcement this morning. Can the minister inform this House about the steps this government is taking to make commuting easier for cyclists?

Hon. Steven Del Duca: Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.

Hon. Eleanor McMahon: I want to thank the member from Barrie for that question.

This morning I was pleased, along with the Minister of Transportation, to make a very important announcement at Appleby GO train station in my riding of Burlington about the future of cycling here in Ontario. Through the commuter bike program, our government is investing more than $2 million to create 28 bike rooms at 26 GO train stations in the GTA. These bike rooms will be installed and will provide storage for more than 200 bikes, making life easier and more convenient for Ontarians by enhancing their transportation options.

Speaker, we’ll keep making these critical investments because our government knows that investing in cycling infrastructure connects our communities; promotes an active, healthy lifestyle; enhances quality of life; and, simply, because it’s the right thing to do. We know too that getting more people on bikes more often is a shared priority with our municipal partners.

Wind turbines

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: My question is for the Premier. While the Premier spends her time testifying tomorrow during the Sudbury bribery trial, the Ontario PC Party is fighting for the health concerns of our constituents—

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): That’s not very helpful when I’m trying to get them to come to order.

Finish, please.

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: Over the summer, I continued to hear from constituents who told me stories about their health concerns from industrial wind turbines. These people included Norma Schmidt, Carla Stachura, Joan Black and Randy Glazier, whose wife, along with residents at their trailer park, has been negatively impacted by the turbines. All of them have told me over and over how they report issues to the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, and then they do not see any action taken on their files. Clearly, the previous minister either failed in his attempts to try and make a difference or he just gave up.

Will the Premier commit to directing her new minister to ensure that the ministry takes noise complaints seriously and finally—finally—starts taking measures to address the harmful effects?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of the Environment and Climate Change.

Hon. Chris Ballard: Thank you to the member opposite for that important question. I know that issues around wind turbine projects continue to pop up every now and then.

I can say, quite frankly, that our ministry takes concerns around wind turbine construction very seriously. Whether it be noise complaints or whether it be potential impacts on water, we take that very seriously because the health of Ontarians is paramount.

We understand that various projects have been appealed. We understand that various projects have been taken to the Environmental Review Tribunal. Consulting with the public is paramount. We make sure that we consult. We make sure that we monitor, and make sure that we stay on top of the issues throughout.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary?

Ms. Lisa M. Thompson: Mr. Speaker, actions speak louder than words.

The previous minister committed to coming down to Huron–Bruce to visit with some of my constituents who have reported, over and over again, detailed problems while living close to industrial wind turbines.

For goodness’ sake, we all remember that the previous minister even agreed—and I quote—that “No one should have to suffer noise or noise pollution from any source, and certainly not wind turbines in their community.”

In August, I sent the current minister a letter inviting him to visit some of these sites while he’s in my riding for the International Plowing Match, but I have yet to hear a response.

Will the minister be permitted by the Premier to accept my invitation and visit with some of the Ontario residents who continue to raise significant concerns about industrial wind turbines?

Hon. Chris Ballard: Speaker, there has not been a single renewable energy project that the party opposite, the PCs, has ever supported here in this House—not a single one. If it were up to them, they would put an end to all the efforts we’re making to create a greener and more sustainable province.

But you know what? We remain committed to a cleaner future. I can tell you that thanks to the clean air and clean energy, Ontario has saved more than $4 billion—that’s $4 billion—in annual health and environmental costs. Unlike the PCs, we’re not going to sit idly by. Renewable energy projects are necessary and a crucial part of our low-carbon switch.

Interjections.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Be seated, please.

New question.

Employment standards

Ms. Andrea Horwath: My question is for the Premier. The number of temp agency offices in Ontario has grown 20% in the last decade. Hundreds of thousands of people in this province now rely on these agencies for their paycheques, but the Premier’s new labour legislation doesn’t go far enough to protect them on the job.

Just last weekend, we were reminded in the media of the squalid and dangerous conditions that many of these workers face—some, like 23-year-old Amina Diaby, losing their lives because they had no other choice but to work in unsafe conditions.

Will the Premier commit to doing the right thing by amending Bill 148 to better protect temporary agency workers?

Hon. Kathleen O. Wynne: Minister of Labour.

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: I thank the leader of the third party for her very important question. Yes, we’re as concerned as you are when it comes to the growth in temporary help agencies in the province of Ontario.

Let me say right from the start, Speaker: Anybody who loses their life at work, anybody who is seriously injured at work—our thoughts go out to them. It’s something we try to prevent on a daily basis.

The investigation on that, obviously, is still under review. I’m not sure if charges will be laid or not; I’m not sure of that process. It’s something we should be talking about.

What we want to do is ensure that temporary help workers’ rights are protected while they remain on the job. What we’ve done through the Fair Workplaces, Better Jobs Act, Bill 148, is to ensure that these workers are paid the same as their full-time counterparts when they’re performing essentially the same work. They’re given at least one week’s notice when the assignment ends early. And they have access to a more fair and transparent organization system should they choose to organize.

I’ll address others in the supplementary.

The Speaker (Hon. Dave Levac): Supplementary.

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Speaker, today in Ontario, too many shady companies contract out risky work to temp agencies, because our laws are written so that if a temporary employee is hurt on the job, the company isn’t held fully responsible—

Interjections: Shady? Shady?

Ms. Andrea Horwath: Yes, I call that shady.

Our laws make it easy for unscrupulous employers, unscrupulous companies, to save money by hiring temporary workers and allowing them to get hurt, instead of investing in permanent employees and training them properly.

Why is this Premier willing to let families, who are already struggling just to get by, risk their lives in dangerous workplaces in the province of Ontario?

Hon. Kevin Daniel Flynn: As I said e